Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness)
FREE backcountry primitive camping on the shore of Raquette Lake in the Pigeon Lake Wilderness of New York's ADIRONDACK Forest Preserve (DEC Region 6, between Big Moose and Raquette Lake). This is a DEC-mapped designated primitive tent site ('Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375]'), and New York provides it at NO CHARGE: the DEC Pigeon Lake page lists the fee as 'Free' and the unit as open year-round, first-come first-served. It sits about 73 feet from Raquette Lake (measured against OpenStreetMap). This is reachable both on foot via the Sucker Brook Bay Trail (about 83 feet away) and by paddle across Sucker Brook Bay on Raquette Lake -- no motor vehicles or bicycles are allowed on the land, so you either hike or paddle in. COUNT DISCLOSURE: the DEC unit page lists 22 designated primitive tent sites across this wilderness (Big Moose 3, Cascade 3, Chub 1, Constable Pond 1, Mays Pond 1, Queer 3, Raquette 3, Razorback Pond 1, Shallow Lake 3, Windfall Pond 2, Windfall Pond Trail 1) and states the sites 'do not currently appear on the map [but] will be added in the near future.' DEC's GIS has mapped only 6 of the 22 as points so far; this is one of those 6 mapped sites, shipped with a real DEC coordinate. The other 16 sites are real per the DEC page but are not yet mapped, so no pins were invented for them. This is free, first-come Adirondack Forest Preserve backcountry camping in the Pigeon Lake Wilderness -- do NOT confuse it with a reservable fee campground; the nearest paid DEC campgrounds (Brown Tract Pond, Eighth Lake, Golden Beach) are a separate, paid system to the south, and the ONLY fee mentioned on the DEC unit page is a day-use fee for the boat launch inside Brown Tract Pond Campground -- that fee does not apply to these free wilderness sites. SEASON / ACCESS: DEC lists Pigeon Lake Wilderness as open YEAR-ROUND and free, but every site here is reached on foot or by paddle (Wilderness = no motor vehicles and no bicycles) -- trails can be wet, snow-covered or blowdown-blocked and water crossings vary, so confirm current trail, water and site conditions with the DEC Region 6 Herkimer office (315-866-6330) or the unit page before you go, especially in winter or mud season. RULES: no reservation and no fee; camp only at a designated site (look for the round yellow DEC 'Camp Here' marker) or, elsewhere in the wilderness, more than 150 feet from any road, trail or water; a free Forest Ranger permit is required only if you stay more than 3 nights or camp with a group of 10 or more (arrange it through the DEC Region 6 Herkimer Office at (315) 866-6330 (Forest Rangers via 911 or DEC dispatch 1-833-NYS-RANGERS)). This site is around 1780 feet, well below any Adirondack high-elevation camping restriction. These are primitive sites: expect at most a fire ring -- no hookups, no showers and no potable water, so bring water or treat what you take from the lake. Pack out all trash, follow Leave No Trace and the DEC fire rules, and store food from bears (this is black-bear country). Confirm current rules, trail status and this site's status on the DEC page (dec.ny.gov/places/pigeon-lake-wilderness) or with the Herkimer office (315-866-6330) before you go; we have not visited.
![USGS topographic map of Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness)](img/raquette-lake-sucker-brook-bay-campsite-dec-1937-ny-43838n74681w-topo.png)
![Aerial image of Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness)](img/raquette-lake-sucker-brook-bay-campsite-dec-1937-ny-43838n74681w-aerial.jpg)
Everything you need — measured from Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness) · Pigeon Lake Wilderness · NY
- GGrocery2 mi
- @Mail2 mi
- WWater8 mi
- HHardware8 mi
- FFuel8 mi
- LLaundry8 mi
- ShShower15 mi
- +Urgent care16 mi
- RxPharmacy17 mi
- OOutfitter18 mi
- MMechanic21 mi
- EVEV fast charger21 mi
- DDump28 mi
- AAir-up56 mi
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 2 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness)
Nearby & resupply — around Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness) · Pigeon Lake Wilderness · NY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureRaquette Lake · under 0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
- Also mapped (OSM)Beaver Brook (river) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townRaquette Lake · ~2.1 mi
- Rail & highwaynone mapped within 10 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~8.2 mi
- FuelFuel · ~8.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~27.7 mi
- GroceriesRaquette Lake Supply Co. General Store · ~2.1 mi
- PharmacyKinney Drugs · ~17.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicClifton Fine Hospital · ~29.2 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware - Old Forge Department Store · ~17.0 mi
EV charging — from Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness) · Pigeon Lake Wilderness · NY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger21.2 mi straight-line E — Indian Lake - Welcome Center · VIALYNK · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach1 within 25 mi · 13 within 50 · 253 within 100 · 487 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)43.0 mi — ChargeSmart EV - Saranac Lake, Saranac Lake
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO47.8 mi — EVolve NY North Hudson, North Hudson
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)8.2 mi — SWTCH Energy Inc., Inlet, NY (at a hotel) · SWTCH · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, no confirmation date on the record · hours: 24 hours daily
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 405740 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness) · Pigeon Lake Wilderness · NY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- No mapped restroom within 30 miles — plan to pack it out.
Coming out here — Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness) · Pigeon Lake Wilderness · NY
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Raquette Lake as a perennial lake or pond, under 0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 15.5% — steep. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No rail line and no interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin. Checked against the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026) and the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). Both are national files and both are maps of what is built, not counts of what moves on it.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness) elsewhere
Other camps near Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Forked Lake West-End Campsite (far west side) [DEC #12700] (Sargent Ponds Wild Forest)~4.9 mi
- Forked Lake West-End Campsite (north shore) [DEC #12701] (Sargent Ponds Wild Forest)~5.0 mi
- Forked Lake West-End Campsite (with a beach) [DEC #12702] (Sargent Ponds Wild Forest)~5.0 mi
- Forked Lake West-End Campsite (on the north shore) [DEC #12703] (Sargent Ponds Wild Forest)~5.1 mi
The unit that manages Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness)
Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] is in Pigeon Lake Wilderness, a wilderness managed by NY DEC. Stay limits, permits, road closures and fire restrictions are set there, not at the campsite — check before you go. Its page maps every camp in it.
How we know this — Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness)
What we don’t know about Raquette Lake-Sucker Brook Bay Campsite [DEC #19375] (Pigeon Lake Wilderness)
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it